Interest rate spread in South Asia
South Asia: Interest rate spread was 7.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Interest rate spread in South Asia, 1995–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus deposit rate, %.
Analysis
South Asia recorded 7.3% for interest rate spread in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 20.1% on the previous year and up 38.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest rate spread in South Asia peaked at 7.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 2001.
South Asia ranks 11th of 40 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Interest rate spread in South Asia, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus deposit rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6.9% | — |
| 1996 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 5.0% | -27.8% |
| 2000 | 5.4% | +8.0% |
| 2001 | 4.5% | -16.3% |
| 2002 | 5.0% | +12.4% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | +5.6% |
| 2004 | 5.5% | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 5.7% | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 6.2% | +8.0% |
| 2007 | 7.2% | +15.8% |
| 2008 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5.9% | -17.4% |
| 2010 | 5.7% | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 5.3% | -7.3% |
| 2012 | 5.7% | +8.2% |
| 2013 | 4.8% | -15.9% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | +9.1% |
| 2015 | 5.2% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 5.6% | +7.1% |
| 2017 | 5.3% | -6.0% |
| 2018 | 5.0% | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 5.4% | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | +45.5% |
| 2021 | 7.9% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 7.2% | -8.6% |
| 2023 | 7.7% | +6.7% |
| 2024 | 6.0% | -21.4% |
| 2025 | 7.3% | +20.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.5% | 5.0% | 6.9% | 5 |
| 2000s | 5.8% | 4.5% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.3% | 4.8% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.3% | 6.0% | 7.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
- 8 Gambia 15.5% compare
- 9 Sao Tome and Principe 15.2% compare
- 10 Sierra Leone 14.4% compare
- 11 South Sudan 14.2% compare
- 12 Somalia 13.0%
- 13 Micronesia, Federated States of 12.6% compare
- 14 Mozambique 11.8% compare
More financial sector data for South Asia
- Total reserves in months of imports, annual growth rate 3.49 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total reserves in months of imports 7.72 (2025)
- Monetary Sector credit to private sector 43.5% (2025)
- Broad money 79.6% (2021)
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks 43.5% (2025)
- Claims on central government, etc. 19.7% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector 43.5% (2025)
- Total reserves in months of imports, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Net migration -1.30 million (2025)
- Net migration, annual growth rate 15.65 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest rate spread in South Asia?
- Interest rate spread in South Asia was 7.3% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest rate spread recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest interest rate spread recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 2001.
- How does South Asia rank for interest rate spread?
- South Asia ranks 11th out of 40 groups with data for 2025.
- Is interest rate spread rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Interest rate spread is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the interest rate paid by commercial or similar banks for demand, time, or savings deposits. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.